I would love to see more females take in control in the series.
Like Lightning. She is a strong female character. More stronger than Snow(personality wise)
She is able to get things done while Snow is saying
( I WANNA BE A HERO! )

I would like it too, so long as they don't make the main character black just for the sake of it.

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They also need to keep the pandering stereotypes out of it. No ghetto speak like Barret, no afro like Sazh. Don't let the culture define the person in a way that is shallow and insulting. Let them be defined by who they are in the context of the story. Not by assumptions derived from racial charicatures.

I would like it too, so long as they don't make the main character black just for the sake of it.

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They also need to keep the pandering stereotypes out of it. No ghetto speak like Barret, no afro like Sazh. Don't let the culture define the person in a way that is shallow and insulting. Let them be defined by who they are in the context of the story. Not by assumptions derived from racial charicatures.

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I agree. There is no need for stereotypes of any race, people should be defined by their personalities and actions. White people are diverse and portrayed as such, it's time other races were too.

Women as heroes? That's absurd. They can't even vote. Now go and make my dinner.

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Your ignorant >_>

i think it should be a female protagonist!! becuz like everyone else is saying your putting soo many hours of your life into the game she might as well be pretty! and i really like lightning as the MC for FF13 better then snow but she came across kinda dull in some points.. =\ and although i thought serah was super cute she looked like she was 15 and snow was like 20 something... um pedo? make the heros look there age xD AKA ADULTs even if theyre young adults

I want a main character who is decidedly male or decidedly female, that's all. I don't want to see a woman who talks, looks, and acts like a man, or a man who talks, looks, and acts like woman. Balthier is the only "main" character I can think of that managed to sidestep all of those pitfalls at the same time, but something tells me we won't see someone like him again, especially if Kitase is involved.

I want a main character who is decidedly male or decidedly female, that's all. I don't want to see a woman who talks, looks, and acts like a man, or a man who talks, looks, and acts like woman. Balthier is the only "main" character I can think of that managed to sidestep all of those pitfalls at the same time, but something tells me we won't see someone like him again, especially if Kitase is involved.

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I would say that Barret, Sazh and Auron were main characters that talked, looked and acted like men. There have been plenty of women that have talked, looked and acted like women.

I agree that the main protagonist's have often been girly-boys or whatever () but in terms of women though, it has never really been an issue.

I want a main character who is decidedly male or decidedly female, that's all. I don't want to see a woman who talks, looks, and acts like a man, or a man who talks, looks, and acts like woman.

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Ha, yeah, there's a novel idea.

Achilles001 said:

Balthier is the only "main" character I can think of that managed to sidestep all of those pitfalls at the same time, but something tells me we won't see someone like him again, especially if Kitase is involved.

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I think Locke did too. He struck a good balance between dwelling on his emotions (the misguided attempts to atone) and staying focused (never getting carried away with Celes). That's granting that the audiovisual element didn't have as much of a chance at working against him (no voice acting and no 3D model/body language), of course.

I would like a single, decidedly main character. Well developed, interesting and empathetic.

Race, gender and age don't matter to me as much as the development. However, I would like them to FEEL like the main character. I like having a party, but being juggled back and forth from character to character really takes the emmersiveness out of an RPG for me.

The only reason Light is the main protagonist in FFXIII seems to be because she is on the cover... You use all the other characters just as often.

Lol, guess everyone has beaten me to the "doesn't matter as long as they're portrayed well" option.

Also I don't think Sazh having an afro is racist in and of itself. After all, it is kind of befitting him. I mean, he could have had dreadlocks, or shaved, or his initials on his scalp and people would call the same racist card.

I'd say guy, because I could connect to him more, especially if there is a love story involved. But I'm not sexist, so as long as the main character is interesting and well developed, it really doesn't matter. Ok, I think what I just said has been beat to death already...

Also I don't think Sazh having an afro is racist in and of itself. After all, it is kind of befitting him. I mean, he could have had dreadlocks, or shaved, or his initials on his scalp and people would call the same racist card.

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Of course not, though that last sentence of yours troubles me, as it misses the point of taking issue with such things.

Racism and stereotyping are not quite the same thing (though they are closely related). What stereotyping indicates is a lack of familiarity with a particular culture and/or ethnicity. Stereotyping makes it easier to identify and group people according to a perceived trait or set of traits. I don't think it's racist per se to make Barret talk with ghetto speak for example, but it does indicate that Japan and/or the Sony localization team thought that "the black guy" should talk that way. It's unintentionally insulting. The result of ignorance rather than fear or malevolence.

Putting any sort of blame aside, it's just a cheap way to make a character stand out in a story. The Game Overthinker had a great episode where he spoke of the way that white people are seen as blank slates. In order to make white people stand out, they put all sorts of costumes on them and such. But for a black guy, being black IS is his costume. It's something that people need to think long and hard about if we're ever going to make any real progress.

X was almost balanced with 4 males and 3 females.
XII had 3 males and 3 females in the main cast.
Then XIII as you say, had 3 males and 3 females.

I disagree about male characters always being boring or just the same. Cloud may not have been loud, brash and cheerful (I would argue about whether this is the way to go anyway) but he had a really traumatizing experience to overcome and a really good journey of self discovery. That to me is more interesting than a character who is really happy with no depth or deep rooted problems to overcome. Then Squall, Zidane, Tidus, Auron, Vaan, Balthier, Snow, Sazh, etc were all in the main casts of their respective games and none of those characters are alike and some of them are even interesting.

I mean is there a final fantasy with more girls than guys?
(excluding x-2)

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FFV was the first. In the end, it had 3 girls and 2 guys. The final party had 3 girls to 1 guy.

FFVIII was balanced as well (if you only take main party members). It had three girls and three guys.

FFIV TAY comes close to balancing it out. With all the 22 main party characters, there are 13 guys and 11 girls (including the dolls). Although, the new playable party members are balanced: 6 guys and 6 girls.

I want a main character who is decidedly male or decidedly female, that's all. I don't want to see a woman who talks, looks, and acts like a man, or a man who talks, looks, and acts like woman. Balthier is the only "main" character I can think of that managed to sidestep all of those pitfalls at the same time, but something tells me we won't see someone like him again, especially if Kitase is involved.

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Who are you to decide what acting like a male or acting like a female is? Everyone wants stereotypically defined gender roles,but omg lets not stereotype on colour.

I want a main character who is decidedly male or decidedly female, that's all. I don't want to see a woman who talks, looks, and acts like a man, or a man who talks, looks, and acts like woman. Balthier is the only "main" character I can think of that managed to sidestep all of those pitfalls at the same time, but something tells me we won't see someone like him again, especially if Kitase is involved.

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Who are you to decide what acting like a male or acting like a female is? Everyone wants stereotypically defined gender roles,but omg lets not stereotype on colour.

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Where is "everyone" wanting stereotypically defined gender roles? This thread has predominantly been people focusing on wanting a good, strong protagonist. Besides that, a comment about wanting a more traditionally-defined male or female lead character could almost be considered ironic, given how many leads are very much not keeping to those same gender stereotypes.

I want a main character who is decidedly male or decidedly female, that's all. I don't want to see a woman who talks, looks, and acts like a man, or a man who talks, looks, and acts like woman. Balthier is the only "main" character I can think of that managed to sidestep all of those pitfalls at the same time, but something tells me we won't see someone like him again, especially if Kitase is involved.

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Who are you to decide what acting like a male or acting like a female is? Everyone wants stereotypically defined gender roles,but omg lets not stereotype on colour.

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Where is "everyone" wanting stereotypically defined gender roles? This thread has predominantly been people focusing on wanting a good, strong protagonist. Besides that, a comment about wanting a more traditionally-defined male or female lead character could almost be considered ironic, given how many leads are very much not keeping to those same gender stereotypes.

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I'm not commenting solely on the thoughts expressed in this thread,but rather on comments in regard to effeminate leads that have long been stated on this and many other forums, as well as the desire for a hyper masculine lead to represent the "real man". Because Im sure each and every poster on this forum is as hyper masculine as Basch or Auron and are true real men like them.

All in all Im just becoming fed up with how the average individual perceives gender/gender roles and sexuality among other things.

I'm not commenting solely on the thoughts expressed in this thread,but rather on comments in regard to effeminate leads that have long been stated on this and many other forums, as well as the desire for a hyper masculine lead to represent the "real man". Because Im sure each and every poster on this forum is as hyper masculine as Basch or Auron and are true real men like them.

All in all Im just becoming fed up with how the average individual perceives gender/gender roles and sexuality among other things.

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Fair enough. I've only been around here a short time, and I haven't noticed it. However, gender stereotyping is admittedly commonplace. Though I do think RPGs are one of the more accepting genres in that regard. Especially compared to say, the FPS genre.

I'm not commenting solely on the thoughts expressed in this thread,but rather on comments in regard to effeminate leads that have long been stated on this and many other forums, as well as the desire for a hyper masculine lead to represent the "real man". Because Im sure each and every poster on this forum is as hyper masculine as Basch or Auron and are true real men like them.

All in all Im just becoming fed up with how the average individual perceives gender/gender roles and sexuality among other things.

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Fair enough. I've only been around here a short time, and I haven't noticed it. However, gender stereotyping is admittedly commonplace. Though I do think RPGs are one of the more accepting genres in that regard. Especially compared to say, the FPS genre.

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The games themselves are. Jrpgs have long utilized characters that were far outside gender-normalcy and with great success pushed those boundaries. Sadly it seems a lot of the audience hasnt latched onto that.

I'm not commenting solely on the thoughts expressed in this thread,but rather on comments in regard to effeminate leads that have long been stated on this and many other forums, as well as the desire for a hyper masculine lead to represent the "real man". Because Im sure each and every poster on this forum is as hyper masculine as Basch or Auron and are true real men like them.

All in all Im just becoming fed up with how the average individual perceives gender/gender roles and sexuality among other things.

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Fair enough. I've only been around here a short time, and I haven't noticed it. However, gender stereotyping is admittedly commonplace. Though I do think RPGs are one of the more accepting genres in that regard. Especially compared to say, the FPS genre.

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The games themselves are. Jrpgs have long utilized characters that were far outside gender-normalcy and with great success pushed those boundaries. Sadly it seems a lot of the audience hasnt latched onto that.

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Agreed. Jrpg's have often had characters that don't fit into gender stereotypes however those characters are often criticized by the fans.

Surprised no one said this, although I guess it could also relate to gender but ...

I would like a non-human main character (not like Zidane or anything, he was just a human with a tail basically) but a legit non-human, I think it could make an interesting storyline. Could deal with acceptance in a human world (if it were a human world), or a number of things ... or maybe a human in a completely non-human world?

I dunno maybe those are stupid ideas i'm not a creative writer or anything so i'm not sure where those basic ideas would lead haha

but otherwise, I don't care if its male or female as long as its done well (easier said then done) I liked Lightning and I've liked many of the lead male characters

I would like it too, so long as they don't make the main character black just for the sake of it.

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They also need to keep the pandering stereotypes out of it. No ghetto speak like Barret, no afro like Sazh. Don't let the culture define the person in a way that is shallow and insulting. Let them be defined by who they are in the context of the story. Not by assumptions derived from racial charicatures.

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I agree. There is no need for stereotypes of any race, people should be defined by their personalities and actions. White people are diverse and portrayed as such, it's time other races were too.

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Omg, I know. Like that black guy in 13 (don't know his name, haven't played it much yet). What's up with the afro? He just doesn't fit in with the game and it's quite honestly distracting. By far, he is my least favorite character that I know in FF.

Surprised no one said this, although I guess it could also relate to gender but ...

I would like a non-human main character (not like Zidane or anything, he was just a human with a tail basically) but a legit non-human, I think it could make an interesting storyline. Could deal with acceptance in a human world (if it were a human world), or a number of things ... or maybe a human in a completely non-human world?

I dunno maybe those are stupid ideas i'm not a creative writer or anything so i'm not sure where those basic ideas would lead haha

but otherwise, I don't care if its male or female as long as its done well (easier said then done) I liked Lightning and I've liked many of the lead male characters

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I really like the sound of that. It reminds me of a graphic novel called Y: The Last Man. The idea of the main character being the last human or another species in an environment with a fully functioning society of another species, humans or multiple other species would be interesting. It would bring an interesting dynamic to not only the main character but also the game itself.

Surprised no one said this, although I guess it could also relate to gender but ...

I would like a non-human main character (not like Zidane or anything, he was just a human with a tail basically) but a legit non-human, I think it could make an interesting storyline. Could deal with acceptance in a human world (if it were a human world), or a number of things ... or maybe a human in a completely non-human world?

I dunno maybe those are stupid ideas i'm not a creative writer or anything so i'm not sure where those basic ideas would lead haha

but otherwise, I don't care if its male or female as long as its done well (easier said then done) I liked Lightning and I've liked many of the lead male characters

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I really like the sound of that. It reminds me of a graphic novel called Y: The Last Man. The idea of the main character being the last human or another species in an environment with a fully functioning society of another species, humans or multiple other species would be interesting. It would bring an interesting dynamic to not only the main character but also the game itself.

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Yeah you could do a lot of different things with that type of situation, especially when involving the rest of the party as they would be completely different if they were humans. It could provide a lot of tension either within the party or with the outside world if they saw the rest of your party being strange and not accepting them for being a part of a group with a non-human.

Or maybe something where the main character hates the human world but is forced to be a part of it or save it for some reason. Or possibly the human world accepts the main character as someone who is different but they are still accepting, but the main character doesn't feel the same and still has hatred or contempt for them.

It would be an interesting dynamic to play off. I'm sure other RPGs have done something similar with having a different species as the main character and being one of the only of its kind, I just can't think of any off the top of my head.

The great thing about using non-human characters is that you can free yourself from stereotypical character roles. There is no racial profiling, no preconceived gender roles, no limitations structured around societal perceptions of age and maturity. One would have to venture a little far from the humanoid though for it to work perfectly. Fran wouldn't cut it.

The great thing about using non-human characters is that you can free yourself from stereotypical character roles. There is no racial profiling, no preconceived gender roles, no limitations structured around societal perceptions of age and maturity. One would have to venture a little far from the humanoid though for it to work perfectly. Fran wouldn't cut it.

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Yeah true, they should make the main character a giant blob or something just kidding

But yeah I agree about Fran, although I did like her character she is too human like (or Hume-like if you want a XII reference) since like Zidane she is just a human with another animals body part stuck on, in Fran's case bunny ear haha

they should make a FF with Ultros as the main character, that would be awesome.

The great thing about using non-human characters is that you can free yourself from stereotypical character roles. There is no racial profiling, no preconceived gender roles, no limitations structured around societal perceptions of age and maturity. One would have to venture a little far from the humanoid though for it to work perfectly. Fran wouldn't cut it.

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Yeah true, they should make the main character a giant blob or something just kidding

But yeah I agree about Fran, although I did like her character she is too human like (or Hume-like if you want a XII reference) since like Zidane she is just a human with another animals body part stuck on, in Fran's case bunny ear haha

they should make a FF with Ultros as the main character, that would be awesome.

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At same time, however, I think that the depiction of Viera culture was significantly different from Hume, and that although Fran looks decidedly feminine, she was fairly androgynous in her personality, neither significantly feminine nor masculine. She always felt very aloof and otherworldly to me, which I thought was fitting considering she's the only non-Hume in XII's cast.